Former El Salvador footballer Alfredo Pacheco murdered

Former El Salvador national team footballer Alfredo Pacheco has been murdered. Pacheco, 33, was shot several times by a man at a petrol station in the city of Santa Ana, 76km (47 miles) west of the capital San Salvador.

The Salvadoran attorney general's office confirmed the reports stating that Pacheco was talking with friends in the station when "an unknown assailant" opened fire on the group "various times." Police say two other people were injured in the attack.

A former defender for the New York Red Bulls and El Salvador's international side, Pacheco appeared 14 times for the Red Bulls while on loan in 2009 and played 86 times for La Selecta between 2002 and 2013, making him their most capped player at the time.

He was banned for life in 2013 for match-fixing after 13 members of the national team were found guilty of receiving bribes to lose several matches between 2010-13.

It's the second killing of a sports star in a month. Honduran international footballer Arnold Peralta, 26, was also shot dead while on holiday in his hometown. El Salvador has one of the highest murder rates in the world.

According to BBC News, the motive for the killing is being investigated . The Red Bulls offered their condolences on Twitter.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Alfredo Pacheco's family & friends. #RBNY